Amy’s Kitchen Can’t Dodge Labeling Class Action Lawsuit

Amy’s Kitchen Inc. managed to get part, but not all, of a class action lawsuit against the company dismissed by a Florida federal judge. The class action lawsuit alleges that Amy’s Kitchen misled customers by using the words “evaporated cane juice” instead of sugar, after federal regulators have warned companies not to use the misleading term on their labels.

In a decision issued Dec. 9, U.S. District Judge James Cohn agreed with the company’s motion to dismiss claims relating to products that plaintiff Leslie Reilly didn’t purchase, but let the other claims stand.

The class action lawsuit was filed by Reilly against Amy’s Kitchen in April, alleging that the company made false claims on the labels of some of its products by saying they contain evaporated cane juice, which isn’t juice, just sugar.

Plaintiff Leslie Reilly contends that Amy’s Kitchen’s use of the term “evaporated cane juice” is “false and misleading,” saying that the company uses this term “to make its product appear healthier than a product that contains ‘sugar’ as an ingredient and to increase sales and charge a premium.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a draft guidance in October 2009 saying “that the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ is not the common or usual name for any type of sweetener, including dried cane syrup” and that using such a term is “false and misleading.”

Amy’s Kitchen products that Reilly purchased that contained evaporated cane juice include the All-American Veggie Burger, the Margherita Pizza and the Light & Lean Black Bean and Cheese Enchilada.

She charged Amy’s Kitchen with violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and unjust enrichment.

Reilly’s class action lawsuit is for individuals who purchased Amy’s Kitchen products since April 2009 that have evaporated cane juice on the list of ingredients.

Amy’s Kitchen had argued that the term was used by several companies and on “thousands of products.” The company was able to get a California judge to dismiss a similar class action lawsuit after successfully arguing that the plaintiff in the case (Figy v. Amy’s Kitchen) had not read the ingredients list prior to buying the products.

Reilly is represented by Sarah Clasby Engel, Lance August Harke and Howard Mitchell Bushman of Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP.

The Amy’s Kitchen False Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Reilly v. Amy’s Kitchen Inc., Case No. 1:13-cv-21525, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: The Amy’s Kitchen false labeling class action lawsuit was dismissed on March 7, 2014.